North Easton, Mass., exudes a quaint, quintessential,
historic, village-like New England feel. This appealing southwest
suburban Boston neighborhood, located within the beautiful Town of
Easton, features old-fashioned shops and businesses,
a concentration of big, old Colonial and Victorian homes, appealing
tree-lined side streets and majestic churches that date back to another
era.

North Easton was settled in 1694, incorporated in 1725 and became
well-known for the Ames Shovel Company. The Ames Shovel Company
provided shovels for the Union Pacific Railroad, which opened the west!
The 19th century shovel business prospered so much so that it became
the world's largest supplier of shovels, according to Kerri Nichols,
program director of the Easton Chamber of Commerce. Oliver Ames the
most famous family member -- he served as Massachusetts governor from
1887-1890.

Famed architect H.H. Richardson gave North Easton Village its
historical "look," with late 19th century Romanesque-style buildings
like the recently renovated Ames Free Library, Oakes Ames Memorial Hall
(for meetings), the former Old Colony Railway Station (current home of
the Easton Historical Society) and the Ames Gate Lodge (I think it is
still owned by the Ames Family). Beautiful churches complement the area
including the Gothic revival style of the Ames-built Unity Church, as
well as Immaculate Conception Church. Frederick Law Olmsted, a
landscape architect who designed Central Park and the Emerald Necklace,
was commissioned to do the landscaping around Oakes Ames Memorial Hall,
designed the downtown Rockery (a memorial for North Easton's citizens
lost in the American Civil War that was restored a few years back), and
helped to landscape many estates in Easton, according to Nichols.

Along with the historic Ames buildings and Olmstead landscaping, the
downtown district features the absolutely terrific Children's
Museum in Easton located in an old fire department building, a
traditional barber shop, the phenomenal The Farmer's Daughter
farm-to-table restaurant for breakfast and lunch, the old gas station
look of Borgeson's, the scenic Shovelshop Pond, the attractive
Frothingham Park for recreational activities, and the 154-acre Sheep
Pasture for quiet walks.

On the outskirts of North Easton Village is Stonehill College, a highly
regarded Catholic college located on 375 idyllic acres. For the sweet
tooth, there's Hilliards House of Candies, featuring
made-on-the-premises chocolates, various other candies and an
old-fashioned ice cream parlor (served the Friday after Easter through
the end of October).

North Easton brings back the small-town neighborhood feeling of
yesteryear with an old-fashioned downtown and "Leave it to Beaver"-like
tree-lined side streets with pleasantly modest ranches to spectacular
old Colonial and Victorian homes. On those side streets, neighbors
share friendly conversation outside, families take walks together along
the network of neighborhood sidewalks, and residents constantly, and
proudly, work on their homes to help maintain the overall classic
village look.

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